The present invention relates, in general, to a drawer slide assembly, and more particularly to a drawer slide assembly of a type including an outer slide member or guide rail secured to an enclosure, such as a cabinet, case or other article of furniture, an inner slide member or runner secured to a drawer, an intermediate slide member having an area formed with a plurality of raceways, and a plurality of rolling elements, such as balls, received in the raceways for slidingly coupling the inner and intermediate slide members.
Slides for drawers are known in many designs, and include a wide range of three-part drawer slides that permit a full extension of the drawer, or two-part drawer slides that can only achieve a less than full extension of the drawer, typically three-quarters extension. The type of slide mechanism used depends, for example, on the size of the drawer and the applied loads. In a simple two-part configuration, the intermediate slide member and the outer slide member form a single rail of U-shaped cross section. In this case, each drawer slide includes a runner, with the guide rail being formed with two or three raceways for receiving the rolling elements.
In drawer slides of three-part configuration, the intermediate slide member forms a separate component so that the drawer can be fully extended from the enclosure, and both end zones of the intermediate slide member are formed with raceways, whereby both raceways-forming end zones of the intermediate slide member are in symmetry to one another. Rolling elements associated to one end travel in a respectively designed end zone of the guide rail when the drawer is moved axially in and out.
A common drawback of all drawer slide assemblies of these types is their insufficient lateral stability. Moreover, the elastic deformation in the area of the raceways is fairly high when subject to stress.